Congress MP KV Thomas, the former chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament, alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, using his management skills, was able to manage the media and even the judiciary. “That is a bad situation,” he said.
The Kerala Congress Saturday sought an explanation from party MP K V Thomas for reportedly praising the governing skills of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. While addressing a function of Kerala Management Association in Kochi on Friday, Thomas reportedly said that Modi is an excellent ruler who can convince others about his decisions and actions.
“I feel more comfortable in communicating with Modi than with leaders of Congress. Modi has succeeded in convincing others about his stand on demonetisation and GST. I am not speaking about its politics, or right or wrong of such actions. Governance is a scientific technology. Modi is an expert in it,’’ Thomas, who was a minister of state in the previous UPA regime, reportedly said.
Thomas, who was earlier PAC chairman, reportedly said that the PM’s expertise was visible in his handling of media and judiciary, and this trait could not be ignored even while opposing him politically and ideologically.
Seeking an explanation from Thomas, Congress state chief M M Hassan said the MP was asked explain whether he had spoken in support of Modi, “who is leading an anti-people government and supporting violence and cruelty”.
Thomas told the media that his address was misunderstood. “I stated that Modi is a ruler who takes anti-people decisions, but implements the same with management skills. He is not a good ruler. He could even bring the media and judiciary to his side through his management skills. What I stated was that management students can study how Modi goes ahead misleading the people through his management skills,’’ he said.
CPM’s Ernakulam district secretariat, in a statement, said Thomas’s praise of the PM is a challenge to secular forces. “That Thomas has become a fan of Modi governance exposes the double standards of the Congress on note ban and GST. It should be noted that Thomas resorted to praising Modi at a time party president Rahul Gandhi is leading the protest against Modi. It shows that Thomas would not hesitate to back Modi in a critical situation,” it said.